The Princess, Her Dragon, and the Keepers
by WithFlamingWings
Summary: Lucy's spirits don't just call her Princess because she is a kind, loving, and compassionate ray of light that treats them well. But a Princess can't face her eventual rule alone, she'll need the support of her mate and The Keepers. Rating may change!
1. Prologue- A Prophecy

**Hello, I am taking this story over from my sister ShineBrightNetwork, so if it seems familiar that is why. However, while the premise is the same I have changed some things drastically so don't expect a frame by frame retelling of the one my sister took down.**

 **I don't own Fairy Tail, duh.**

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Pallene ran through the grand corridors of the Celestial Palace, her feet beating out a rhythm against the ornate floors below. She slowed only slightly as she passed the guards at the entrance to the royal wing, flashing the seal of her Lord to allow her passage. As she ran further into the Royal wing, she caught sight of the Zodiac all standing near a door, anxiety clear on their faces.

Capricorn was the first to take notice of her and quickly stepped into her path, making her squeak and slide to a stop to cower in front of him. "What has brought you here? His Majesty ordered that he and Lady Heartfilia not be disturbed at this time."

The little moon shook beneath the gaze of the sea-goat, "Lord Saturn sent me. He has made a prophecy concerning our new…"

She was interrupted by the cry of a baby, just beyond the door.

The sound, usually grating and obnoxious, seemed to resonate with the Celestial beings in the room. The little moon felt her magic hum pleasantly in response to the sound and she could clearly see that it was having an effect on the constellations before her as well, their faces being overwhelmed with joy and their own magic seeming to flare visibly.

The door they all stood around opened and the King stepped into the doorway, "My friends," he rumbled, a smile prominent on his face, "rejoice, for we now have a Princess of the Stars."

The reaction was instant, the Zodiac cheering happily and hugging one another. Gemini was zooming energetically above everyone with happy giggles and shy little Aries had jumped into Leo's arms with a joyful laugh. The mighty Taurus was crying while holding Libra and Virgo off the floor in a tight hug. Even the frightening Aquarius was reacting, crying happy tears into the chest of her boyfriend Scorpio who could not stop grinning.

A kind laugh from just beyond the King broke through the noise miraculously and the thirteen of the Zodiac turned toward the door, "Aquarius, Capricorn, Cancer, come meet my little girl." The little moon who was lucky enough to have witnessed this moment, watched as the three Zodiacs rushed for the door uncharacteristically. They were Lady Heartfilia's spirits, her closest companions, after all. It was only appropriate for them to see the little Princess first.

Pallene shifted uneasily as she watched the remaining ten Zodiac congratulate the King with hugs and hearty back slaps. "Pardon me…" she called softly, shaking slightly where she stood. No one heard her, "Excuse me." She tried again, a little louder, her voice coming out in a horrible squeak.

This was enough to turn eyes to her and her shaking got even worse under the gaze of the King himself. "I ordered us to remain undisturbed. What is of such great importance that you could not go to Draco or Aquila who are acting in my stead at the moment?"

The moon let out another squeak and bowed so low her dull silver hair swept the ground, "Sorry!" she cried, in a poor impersonation of Aries, "Lord Saturn sent me! He has made a prophecy about our new Princess and felt that you should be alerted right away!"

"A prophecy already?" Leo mused, "The little Princess does not waste any time huh?"

The King chuckled, "It would seem not." He peered down at the little star, "Did Saturn give you this prophecy or does he wish for an audience?"

"He sent it with me your majesty." The little moon replied, pulling a recording lacrima from her pocket and holding it out. She swiped a hand across the surface and the stern voice of Saturn filled the hallway.

" _When the King falls, the tree will tremble...The heavy throne shall our Princess take...The demons of the Pit return ...The Princess of the Stars and her mate, a great Dragon, shall defeat them once and for all with the help of the Keepers...And they shall remain, eternal guardians of those under the stars, until time runs out._ " The lacrima cut off and dimmed.

The mood in the hall dropped drastically.

Aries gasped and clutched at Leo's sleeve. Ophiuchus' shadows grew deeper in melancholy and Gemini sunk to Libra's shoulders.

"Man," Scorpio grumbled softly, "so much on such tiny shoulders. Aquarius is going to be pissed."

"I see." The King rumbled, his voice low and solemn.

"Your Majesty?" Leo asked, putting his free hand on the King's shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"I am fine Old Friend." The Ruler of the Stars replied, "We knew with the events that led to this happy occasion that it was a possibility but now it seems to be an inevitability. My Little Star will have much to overcome but it would appear that Fate was not entirely cruel. She will have a mate to support her and her own Keepers."

"There have not been Keepers since the last war." Virgo said, her voice flat. "Millennia ago."

"Perhaps it is time for new ones." The King said, "With my Little Star being half human she will need beings closer to her than subjects. My Keepers were some of my closest and most trusted friends before they sacrificed themselves. My Daughter's Keepers will be most important, I have a feeling that they will be instrumental in helping her mate remind her of her humanity and to help keep her bearings in the transition."

"Are you saying the Princess' Keepers will be human?" Aries asked, "Sorry!"

The King hummed, "I cannot say for certain, we will know for sure as her star develops further to see what others she pulls into her orbit. Either way they will be the support she needs if Saturn's prophecy proves true."

"We will always be with her as well." Leo pledged solemnly, the ten Zodiac present all nodded in agreement.

"I have no doubts about that." The King chuckled, "I will also rely on you to train my beautiful little daughter. If her time to rule is truly an inevitability, then she must be as prepared as possible to take my place among the stars."

"Yes your Majesty." The Zodiac chorused.

The King looked over to Pallene, the one who had brought the troubling news, "Thank you for bringing this to us little moon. I appreciate your swift delivery of this important prophecy."

"Of course your Majesty!" Pallene replied, bowing low again. As she stood up she bit her lip and fidgeted.

The King gave her a kind smile, "What is it?"

"Oh!" Pallene stuttered, her face going red, "May I-may I know the name of our new Princess?"

All the remaining Zodiac turned to the King expectantly as he gave a great booming laugh, "Yes. My beautiful daughter, our new Princess, is called Lucinda Céleste Heartfilia."

"What a mouthful." A soothing voice interrupted, everyone looked over to see Lady Heartfilia standing in the doorway, supported by Capricorn and Cancer as a dewy eyed Aquarius played with a tiny hand that extended from a bundle of blankets. Lady Heartfilia beamed at the other Zodiac and the King, "When we're not being formal I think she would be perfectly happy just being our little Lucy."

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 **Pallene is a moon of Saturn.**


	2. Time to Stop

**For reference...everything but the prologue starts right after Phantom Lord but before the Tower of Heaven. Gajeel and Juvia have not joined the guild yet but will still do so.**

 **Disclaimer in Chapter 1.**

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Lucy sat stiffly at the guilds bar, her fingers gripped tightly around her strawberry milkshake. Beside her Erza sat giving a dissertation about all that Lucy had done wrong on the last mission. Lucy sipped her milkshake stoically.

The Celestial Wizard sighed as another voice joined the red-headed knight, "She's right Lucy! You should train!" scorching heat plopped into the seat beside her, "None of that would have happened if you were stronger!"

Lucy slid her free hand down her keys for reassurance from her family before she turned to look at her partner, "Gee Natsu, tell me how you really feel." She said in a deliberately joking manner, trying to get out of the tedious conversation.

"You're kinda weak." Natsu said bluntly, completely oblivious of Lucy's tone and the way the glass cracked in her grip at his words. "I mean you call out your spirits to fight for you and when you do you can't control them."

"He's right for once." Gray jumped in, losing his shirt in the process, "And while you're pretty good with your whip it's nothing against most magics."

Lucy fought the urge to snap said whip at the dense pink haired slayer and the ice mage. "Natsu I'm not sure you know enough about Celestial magic to judge my ability." She said with a false smile, giving a shaky laugh.

Erza snorted, "A user type mage's items are only as strong as the mage themselves. You couldn't even power your spirits past that puppet mage on Galuna."

Lucy felt Taurus' key pulse and cursed herself for alerting them enough that they were watching. Lucy frowned at Erza, "I did get Taurus past that."

"Not before he tried to punch your face in!" Natsu laughed.

"And you really only won through sheer luck." Gray grumbled

Erza nodded in agreement, "Yes, you need to get stronger to prevent these mistakes before they happen." Erza said, "Or so you can handle them quickly when they do come up without needing someone to come rescue you like with Phantom Lord."

The glass shattered in Lucy's hand at those words and rage filled her. If she hadn't kept her cover she would have been able to take care of Phantom herself, but she hadn't thought they would go as far as they did. When they had come for her she had been prepared to abandon her cover but she had been knocked out and dragged off before she could do anything. By the time she had gotten free from Gajeel's magic blocking cuffs and started to drop her seal, the Master had ended the battle.

"Lucy your hand!" Mira exclaimed, pulling Lucy from her memories.

The blonde looked down at her hand with an eerie detachment. She stood and plucked the pieces of glass from her hand nonchalantly, "Nothing to worry about Mira. I wouldn't want to need rescuing from mere glass." Lucy stood gracefully, ignoring Natsu's worried call of her name, and marched over to where the Master was sitting with a tankard of beer.

"Lucy! What a pleasant surprise!" Makarov exclaimed, "What can I do for you my dear?"

Lucy smiled, relaxing instantly in the presence of the little Master, "Hello Master. I just wanted to inform you that I will be leaving Team Natsu."

The guild went completely silent at that, only a few had been watching the previous conversation but the declaration to Master brought the rest of the guilds attention, including the large blond that sat on the top floor. Master Makarov frowned, "Why are you leaving your team?"

"Luce you can't!" Natsu denied, Gray and Erza were just staring at her in shock.

"It would seem that they see me as a weak damsel in distress. I need a team who has faith in my abilities and ability to handle myself despite how things may appear." Lucy said, "I won't find that with people who have not bothered to look past the surface and who have not even allowed me the space on missions to prove myself." she was standing ramrod straight now and held a serious expression on her face.

Makarov nodded slowly, "I understand Lucy. Will you be going solo then? Training?" the guild waited with baited breath.

Lucy laughed lightly with a big smile on her face, "I do believe it's time to stop hiding myself, Master." Lucy heard a chair scrape back in the dead silent guildhall and spun in place, her whip appearing in her hand. Pinpointing the ginger playboy trying to escape, Lucy let her whip fly.

"Lucy!" Master scolded in shock as the blonde's whip wrapped around the shoulders of a frantic looking Loke, "If you wanted to create a new team, surly you could have asked him."

"This isn't making a team Master." Lucy said as she reeled Loke in, ignoring his stammering, "This is saving a brother."

"Brother?" Gray questioned.

Lucy didn't respond, she just looked down at the pale and sweating Loke that was trapped at her feet, "It's been a while Leo."

"Princess." He greeted shakily, his head bowed and his face resigned. "Have you come to finish me off?"

"Do you truly think I'm capable of killing my brother?" Lucy asked gently, her face soft as she gazed fondly down at him.

He looked up at her with wide eyes, "But I killed her! I broke the rules!" he struggled against the whip around him as the guild broke out into confused murmurings and the Master watched with wide eyes. "I accept my fate but at least let me continue to work toward a bit of retribution until I fade out!"

Lucy reached down and stilled him with a touch to his shoulder, "That wasn't your fault Leo. You did NOT kill her. She took a job she couldn't handle. You were simply protecting your family." She smiled at him as he blinked up at her in a mixture of shock and confusion, "We will speak more later. I will have your key and I know once you're strong enough you will be able to force your gate open."

"My gate…" he said in a daze, "My key…..You're…."

Lucy drew herself to her full height and held out both hands toward him, " **Leo the Lion, Leader of the Zodiac, I grant you return passage into the Celestial World.** " The area around them began to glow golden and Leo's form shimmered, Lucy went to her knees next to him and freed him from the whip, "Go home big brother. I will see you later." He surged forward and hugged Lucy before disappearing in a burst of light. When Lucy stood up she held another key.

The Guild exploded with noise, demanding answers and talking loudly about what they had just witnessed.

Lucy ignored them, turned to Makarov once more, and bowed, "I thank you for taking in Leo while he was in need." She said formally, her voice just loud enough for him to hear through the noise.

"My dear I think I'm going to need some explanations." the Master said faintly.

Lucy stood tall once more and surprised the small man with a mischievous smile, "Now, now Master. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I have a few things that need to happen before I can come out fully." She placed her new key on her ring next to the others before beginning to coil her whip, "I and my new team will need to go alert my people, deal with the one who sent Phantom after me, and do some training along the way so we know how to work together, but that one mostly comes with experience and understanding within a team."

Makarov gave a shaky chuckle, "With all that you've just thrown my way I'm almost afraid to ask but, who is going to be in your new team my dear?"

"The Strauss Siblings of course!" Lucy answer brightly.

That brought the guild back to silence in an instant.

Elfman crashed through a crowd of guild members and two tables to scoop a laughing Lucy off the ground, "This team's going to be the manliest!" he proclaimed, not hearing the growl from above through his enthusiasm.

Mira giggled as she came over from the bar, "I'm sure you two will make a great team." She said, looking to Lucy who was being held like a rag doll under Elfman's arm, "And I thank you for your offer Lucy but I don't go on jobs anymore."

In a flash of golden light, Lucy was free of Elfman's grip and standing in front of Mira, the whispers from their captivated audience started up again.

Lucy took Mira's hands gently, "You don't have to fight if you don't want to Mira but I would love to have you with us. Ever since I came to the guild you have been so kind to me and one of my absolute favorite people. You've been like a sister and each of my siblings are precious to me. You've given me the ability to carry on this illusion even when Team Natsu was getting a bit much, even if in the end it probably would have been better for my own mental health to reveal myself earlier." Mira's eyes were beginning to water a little bit and Lucy gave her a wide grin, "Besides, I think we'll make a wonderful four-person team even if one of us doesn't want to fight!"

Makarov frowned, "Lucy there are only three of you. Unless you wish to count your spirits."

Lucy turned her head to look at the Master, "Of course there are four of us. I said the Strauss Siblings. There's one more right?"

The temperature of the guild dropped and Mira released Lucy's hands in shock, "Lucy…" the barmaid started in a frighteningly blank monotone, Elfman had tensed behind Lucy, "I spoke with you about her in confidence. Don't do this. Don't…Please don't…"

Lucy's eyes went back to the silver haired woman in an instant, ignoring the guild around them. "I would never." She gave Mira a kind smile, "She made me promise not to say anything until I was ready to reveal myself and that couldn't happen until I was at the very least sure of a few things."

"Lucy…" Mira warbled as her eyes started to fill even more.

The blonde tilted her head slowly and took out one of her gold star earrings, the guild gasped as magic flooded the room in a wash before settling back around Lucy. "Let's make this team official shall we?" Lucy turned to the empty space between her and the doors to the guild, she threw out a hand in front of her, " **I am the path between realms! Hear me and join me, my Keeper of the Lost! Lisanna!** "

A silver light exploded into existence in the center of the guild, the light died down just as quickly as it came, leaving a silver haired figure dressed in blue and white standing facing the door where it had been.

Lucy stepped forward, "Lisanna!"

The figure spun and locked eyes on the blonde before lighting up, "Lucy!"

The two girls crashed together in the next instant, not hearing the guild which had exploded into sound once more, they were to focused on one another.

"I missed you!" Lucy laughed as she hugged her friend tight. "Letter's just aren't the same!"

Lisanna laughed in Lucy's ear as the two spun together happily, "I missed you too! I know! I've been wanting to see you again! Especially since you wrote about that Phantom Lord business!" she suddenly pulled back with a gasp to look at Lucy, "Does this mean it's time?! You're stopping the undercover stuff?!"

Lucy giggled and nodded with a smile so wide it almost hurt, "Yup! Time to stop hiding! I only had a few things I didn't manage to get done that I wanted to while I was under but as long as we keep it within the guild for a while it shouldn't be too much of a problem." Lucy stopped spinning them with Lisanna's back to her siblings who were both staring at their youngest sister with wide tear filled eyes, Mira had her hands clasped to her mouth and Elfman's shoulders were heaving.

"The Guild!" Lisanna exclaimed, finally looking around her, "The new building looks just like you said it did!" she waved to the shocked Wakaba and Macao, "Hey guys!"

Lucy laughed again, "Lisanna! Lisanna! Stop!" the silver hair girl looked back to Lucy curiously, "How about you turn around?"

Lisanna did as she was told and was greeted by the sight of her sobbing siblings, she brightened, "Mira! Elfman!" she ran toward them and was immediately engulfed in their arms as the crying really took hold.

Lucy took off her other earring while she watched the reunited family happily sink to the floor together in a tangle of limbs, there was another large surge of magic and many lesser mages in the room dropped to the ground as this wave took longer to settle close around Lucy's curvy frame, eliciting a soft moan from the top floor. "Master," Lucy began as she walked closer to stand guard over the trio, "I believe I have my team. We will…"

"Lucy stop this!" Erza ordered, the first to shake off her shock, "You're not leaving the team! Our comments were not meant to be mean. Clearly you were holding back so they mean nothing."

"Yeah!" Natsu added, with his usual wide grin, his onyx eyes locked on Lisanna's head where it peaked from the shoulders of her siblings. "But if you don't want to we can take Lisanna!"

Lucy's eyes narrowed and her face hardened while Lisanna shot the three of them a surprised look. "I am not staying on Team Natsu." Lucy said flatly, "I know your comments were not malicious but that does not mean they mean nothing Erza. You said them, you believed them, and not one of the three of you have bothered to look past the surface after your first impression of me. Even if the way you saw me was true then how would you always taking over my fights help me to grow stronger?" her eyes turned to Gray, "You straight up told me that the only reason that I got past one obstacle was luck. As if the strategy I used and the choices I made would have failed me otherwise." Lucy looked over to Natsu, "And you, I can't even begin to say how insulting it is to both me and Lisanna that you think switching us out would be something feasible."

"You need to stop being so sensitive…" Gray started but Lucy just rolled her eyes and looked back to Makarov.

"Master, we will be gone for a couple weeks at most. When I return I will explain everything. We will be available by lacrima if…" Lucy looked down when she felt a hand just above her boot cuff.

"We need to go back for a bit to tell everyone where I've gone." Lisanna said, "I was just preparing for the lunch rush so there was no one around to tell when you called."

Lucy groaned lightly, "Right," she looked back to Master once more, "So we will _not_ be available by lacrima for the first couple days because they don't work between two realms on the same tier. I'll call when we make it back to Earthland." She reached down and gripped Elfman and Mira's shoulders before a golden glow started emanate from her.

"What do you mean make it back to Earthland?!" Master shouted as the voices in the guild started to pick up again. With the ruckus made by the other members the newly formed four-person team in the center of the guild didn't hear the harsh scrape of a chair above followed by a snap that had three people below shooting to their feet. "Are you kidnapping my bartender right now Lucy?!" Makarov exclaimed.

"Oh hell no!" Cana shouted.

Lucy laughed, "Don't worry! I'll bring her back in one piece! We're just taking a little trip to Edolas!" wind started to whip around the glowing group as Makarov's eyes grew wide in recognition of the name. Three bodies were shoving their way forward as lightning charged overhead.

"Lucy we should talk about this!" Erza demanded.

"Maybe when you get your head out of the sand Titania!" Lucy called as the magic around them swelled one last time.

Just before the group disappeared from sight they were hit with three bodies, five totems, and a blast of lightning.

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 **I had some of my sister's writing from a really early draft and snuck some of it in here. From here on out will be wholly new content based on her concepts.**


	3. Stowaways

**Still don't own Fairy Tail, I'll need to win a lottery or five for that to even be a slight possibility.**

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Lucy felt the sudden additional weight of new magics within her spell just as five bits of wood slammed into her breasts. The magic whisked them all away a second later and she knew that it was going to over shoot because of the sudden imbalance in the calculation.

Sure enough, when they phased back into existence, they were thousands of feet above Edolas' mainland and too far from one of the floating islands for them to be any help.

"Shit!" a deep voice growled as they began falling.

Lucy looked over toward the voice through the wind that whipped passed her and her eyebrows flew up when she saw Laxus Dreyar falling head first next to her. Lucy glared at her fellow blond, "What the hell were you thinking?!" she screamed over the wind as they dropped. Through the sound of wind rushing in her ears she could hear the other's panicking, both the Strauss' and the stowaways.

"Mira! Elfman! You have to let go of me!" Lisanna was shouting over her siblings' screams.

"Dark Écriture: Wings!"

"Babies!" a frantic voice called.

Lucy scowled as she looked down, finding their most likely landing place. She knew that only her and Lisanna's magic would work and with Lisanna currently clutched between her siblings that left it up to Lucy.

"My wings aren't working!" a feminine voice shrieked.

"Neither are my runes!"

"Where are my babies?!"

Lucy's brow furrowed at that as she craned her neck to see everyone else. There were seven people falling besides herself and if she squinted through her watering eyes she could make out green hair, limp and useless fabric fairy wings, and a feathered helmet. ' _Of course,'_ Lucy thought, _'If Laxus is here then the other stowaways must be the Raijinshū.'_ She hadn't had much contact with the group, none at all really, but Lucy had read enough about them in Sorcerer Weekly to know that the one in the feathered helmet, Bickslow if she remembered correctly, was talking about his totems.

That in mind, Lucy twisted expertly through the air, looking for the little totems that had likely been what had hit her in the chest when they left. She spotted them just to her right, they had scattered a little bit from the force of the wind. Lucy was so grateful for Aquila's harsh flying lessons in this moment as she spun herself through the air and gathered up the five totems to her chest. What did surprise her is how the totems warmed slightly in her hands as she took hold of them, _'So he_ is _a seith mage.'_ Lucy hummed to herself.

"Lucy do something already!" Lisanna screamed.

Lucy maneuvered through the air until she was right in front of Bickslow, "Alright, alright!" she yelled over the wind as she shoved the totems into Bickslow's arms, "Don't get excited!" Lucy turned back toward the ground and thrust her hands out in front of her, " **Wool Cushion!** " she spelled. Directly below them Aries pink fluffy wool sprung from the ground to form a crash pad so large that it would have easily taken about half of her father in his larger form.

Seconds later the crash pad caught them in a fluffy embrace, stopping their momentum slowly and letting them all sink deep into the sea of pink wool. Lucy let out a relieved sigh before dissipating the wool.

Everyone stood shakily, trying to get their bearings now that they weren't plummeting thousands of feet through the air. Lucy brushed herself off as she climbed to her feet and was about to turn and yell at the stowaways before she was pulled into a bone crushing hug with five distinct bits of wood digging into her side.

"You saved my babies!" a voice exclaimed in her ear, making her wince at the volume. "Thank you! I am forever in your debt! Forever your loyal slave! Use me at your…"

"Get off her Bix!" a deep voice growled as the weight was ripped from her. Lucy looked over to see Laxus holding Bickslow off the ground by his collar, the hooded man was still holding his babies to his chest.

"Boss! She saved my babies!" Bickslow whined as he was dropped next to the female of their group.

"She also saved our lives." The green haired man interjected, "Perhaps you should get a better perspective." Lucy narrowed her eyes and her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"I wouldn't have had to save _any_ lives if you four hadn't thrown yourselves into an active teleportation equation!" Lucy yelled, drawing all eyes to her. The Strauss' watched with wide eyes, Mira holding Lisanna tightly and Elfman hold them both off the ground easily. Lucy was focused on the four stowaways, "What were you thinking?!"

Laxus and Bickslow both refused to look at her while the only female of the group, Evergreen if Lucy recalled correctly, bowed her head with a blush. The final member of their team, Freed, pressed his fist over his heart and bowed to Lucy, "Our apologies Lady Heartfilia. We, unwisely, did not think in our haste to reach you."

Lucy gritted her teeth and glared at the four in front of her, gripping her fists tighter as she stared at them. Lisanna wiggled wildly in her sister's arms until Mira was forced to drop her. "Lisanna don't…" Mira started but Lisanna had already ran over in front of Lucy.

Lisanna stepped into Lucy's line of sight and held up her hands, "Deep breaths Lulu." The blonde focused on her friend and blew out a long breath, "There you go, you know it's just adrenaline and taking the seals off your magic after so long of having them on talking. You can handle this calmly."

"I'm allowed to be angry." Lucy pouted slightly, "They almost got us all splattered against the mainland. For no good reason."

"We have a reason!" Bickslow piped up.

Lisanna and Lucy both looked over to Bickslow who was wincing as Laxus glared at him, "And just what reason is that?" Lucy asked curiously, her eyes still hard despite Lisanna helping calm her down a bit.

"Doesn't matter right now!" Laxus gruffed, stepping in front of Bickslow, "Where are we exactly? Why can't we use our magic here? Why can you? What was all of that in the guild?" the hulking blond demanded, looking down at Lucy with stormy blue eyes.

Lucy was about to snap back at Laxus' rude tone when Lisanna put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Easy." The silver haired girl murmured.

"Lucy?" Mira called out softly, Lucy looked over at the other two Strauss' and the rest of her tension bled out of her at the worried looks that Lisanna's disheveled siblings were sending her.

"Oh, Mira. I'm sorry. I got caught up." She hurried over to Mira and Elfman with Lisanna close behind, "Are you alright? That was quite the fall. We were meant to land safely on the ground."

"We're alright." Mira said with her usual soft smile, "It was certainly one way for us to shake our shock."

Lucy nodded and looked to the huge male, "Elfman? You alright."

The almost seven-foot giant gave her a small grimacing smile despite his green complexion, "I'm fine, I'm just not…the biggest fan of heights. They're not manly at all." Lucy giggled.

"Blondie! I asked for an explanation!" Laxus called. Lucy sent him an annoyed glare.

"Lucy," Mira started softly, "I don't condone Laxus' rudeness but I'd like to know all of that as well. Starting with the last question really." Laxus looked away with a soft grunt.

Lucy sighed and stepped back so she could see everyone, "I guess you would want to know why I essentially kidnapped you and Elfman huh?"

Mira giggled, "Yes, I've never been kidnapped before but I know there is usually a reason."

Lisanna smiled, "I'll call our ride while you start Lulu."

Lucy nodded at her friend before settling into a comfortable stance, "I'm not who I have been presenting to everyone in Earthland."

"So who exactly are you?" Elfman asked, peering down at her curiously.

Lucy beamed up at him and held out her hand, "Hello, I'm Lucinda Céleste Heartfilia, Princess of the Stars."

Elfman took her hand cautiously and shook it, "Hello."

"How did you get that title Lucy?" Mira asked.

Lucy chuckled, "Easy. I was born as the daughter of Layla Heartfilia, the most powerful Celestial Spirit Mage in the last thousand years, and the Celestial Spirit King himself."

"What?!" Evergreen and Bickslow exclaimed.

Lucy looked over to the stowaways and grinned at the shocked faces she saw, the grin faltered momentarily as she noted Laxus' shock melting away into smug pride that he did a poor job of hiding. Her eyes moved over to the Raijinshū who were staring at her with wide eyes, "Yep, that's me."

"You're a princess!" Evergreen gushed, "A real princess!"

"How?!" Bickslow demanded, "Celestial spirits aren't compatible with humans! And are you? Half Celestial Spirit?" Freed looked over to his teammate with a raised eyebrow, apparently surprised at his friend's level of understanding with the subject.

"Yes." Lucy laughed.

"Then how are you out here without fading?"

"That's where the half human part comes in." Lucy said, "It allows me to leave the Celestial Spirit Realm without needing power to sustain myself. Of course I'm not as powerful as when I'm up there but every spirit is stronger within our Realm."

"And Lucy is only at about half strength right now without her direct connection to the Celestial Realm." Lisanna threw in, coming to stand next to Lucy as she slid a small metal and glass device into her pocket.

"You're only at half strength Blondie?" Laxus chuckled, giving her a predatory grin, "Even after taking off those earrings at the guild?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes at Laxus' reaction, he looked entirely too pleased with himself and the way his eyes were raking over her body was making her skin tingle. She drew some of her magic into her eyes and drew her eyes down his body in her own perusal, completely unaware of Mira behind her watching the nonverbal exchange with a growing smile. Lucy didn't have to go far before she found a clue to the lightning mage's behavior. _'Sweet stars what are the odds?'_ "That's right dragon boy, half strength. I don't have my crown with me to allow me clean access to the Celestial Realm."

"Boy?" he sputtered, rearing back slightly, "I'm all man little Princess."

Lucy cocked an eyebrow at him, "Right." _'It would explain why he charged into my spell after I announced we were leaving.'_

"How did you know he was a Slayer?" Freed asked with a frown, apparently _he_ hadn't missed the 'dragon' part.

Lisanna's eyes went wide as she looked over at Laxus before she shot Lucy a look, "Laxus is a slayer?"

 _'_ _I have to be sure.'_ Lucy mused before answering the questions, "Yes Lisanna, apparently he is. I can tell because all Slayer's have to receive Draco's blessing to fully integrate their power without falling into insanity. My position allows me to see it."

"Lucy." Mira called sweetly, Lucy looked over at her and shuddered a little when she saw the look on Mira's face that was quickly replaced with one of innocence, "I'm sorry but what does you being a Princess have to do with kidnapping me and Elfman?"

The Princess blushed, "Right, sorry. When I was born there was a prophecy made, even though it wasn't the main focus it stated that I would have Keepers. As I grew and my path started to take form in the threads of Fate, we were able to figure out a lot about the prophecy. The biggest thing was how many Keepers I had, what they would become Keepers of, and how I would be able to find them."

"I was her first Keeper!" Lisanna said proudly, "I'm her Keeper of the Lost."

Lucy grinned and hugged Lisanna, still looking at Mira and Elfman, "We found out that three of my Keepers were related. After I explained everything to Lisanna and told her what the other Keeper positions were she was certain that you two were some of my Keepers as well."

Mira and Elfman shared a surprised glance, "Lucy…we're honored…"

The blonde shook her head, "No, we don't have time to go over everything right now. It's a lot of information and you'll have a choice to make, I would never force either of you into the position. But our ride should be here soon; we don't have time."

Lisanna gave her older siblings a big smile, "There is a lot to take in but we can explain better when we're safer." She slid from Lucy's arms and went to hug Mira and Elfman again, "It's so worth it. I promise." She whispered confidently in their ears.

Lucy left them to their moment and turned to her stowaways, "So…what to do with you four." She let her eyes move over the group, _'If he is maybe they are.'_

"Do with us?" Evergreen repeated, flicking open her fan to fan herself nervously.

"Yes," Lucy hummed, "I should probably send you back to the guild."

"We're not going anywhere blondie." Laxus said, crossing his arms over his chest.

 _'_ _Let's see if you'll tell the truth to stay then sparky.'_ Lucy clasped her hands behind her and tilted her head at them, "But there's no reason for you to be here. After we take care of what we need to here and then what I need to back on Earthland we'll be making our way to the Celestial Spirit Realm. You won't be allowed up there."

"And why not?" Laxus growled.

"There isn't a reason for you to be up there. You aren't a Celestial Spirit. My father hasn't summoned you and I certainly can't allow you in simply because you felt a sudden need to stalk me." Lucy said with a genial smile.

"There is a reason!" Bickslow insisted for the second time, "You're the boss'…" Bickslow cut off with a yelp when Laxus stomped on the Seith mage's foot.

"He means, that we might be some of these Keepers of yours." Laxus insisted over his friend's cursing.

Lucy fought to keep from laughing, "That very well may be but I don't know any of you well enough to see if you match up to the positions and the clues we were able to pull from fate's web."

"How are you going to get to know us if you send us back to the guild?" he argued.

"I'm half Celestial Spirit, trust me when I say I have _plenty_ of time to get to know you guys, even if you don't see me over the next couple weeks." Lucy said, killing that attempt. Laxus' jaw flexed in frustration and Lucy was sure that if he could use his magic at the moment he would be sparking. She rolled her eyes, "How about you tell me the truth?" She offered.

The Raijinshū all looked to Laxus as the Strauss' watched curiously from behind Lucy. Laxus fidgeted slightly under the combined weight of their gazes. Lucy watched in amusement as he tried to glare her into submission before giving up at her raised eyebrow. Laxus shot one nervous glance at Mira who was grinning manically behind Lucy before sighing and slumping slightly in defeat.

"You're my mate."

* * *

 **Next time: The Fairy Hunter**


	4. The Fairy Hunter

**Hey guys!**

 **Before we begin I want to give you some ages because while I was writing I worked out some things, one of which being that certain people from a certain guild will be baby tigers in need of a home. ;) You'll find out as we go but I think it will be an interesting ride.**

 **So...**

 **Laxus, Freed - 24**

 **Mira, Bickslow - 23**

 **Elfman, Lucy - 21**

 **Evergreen - 20**

 **Lisanna - 19**

 **Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Will add as needed.**

* * *

 _"You're my mate."_

"Was that so hard?" Lucy asked as Mira let out a high pitched squeal and clapped her hands excitedly from behind Lucy. Laxus sent Mira an unhappy look. "Of course we'll have to be certain."

Laxus frowned, "I am certain. My dragon is certain. You're my mate Blondie." Mira squealed again and Laxus winced.

Lucy gave him a small smile, "I'm sure you _are_ certain, especially since you charged into a spell without thinking, but there are a variety of ways that Slayers can be led astray in their mating senses. The only fool proof way to tell before the mating takes place is the element check which we can't perform here since you can't access your magic." _'I have to be sure. My future mate is supposed to rule_ with _me, I can't be uncertain.'_

"Yes, why is it that we cannot access our magic here?" Freed cut in, "It is most peculiar."

"This is Edolas and here a person cannot store magic within their body." Lucy explained, "When passing over here your body recognizes the rules of the land and complies by locking your magic inside of you."

"Fascinating." Freed hummed.

"It's not fascinating." Bickslow pouted, "My poor babies are trapped in their little wood bodies without being able to peek out or fly."

"How can you use magic here then Lucy?" Elfman asked.

"My connection to the Celestial Spirit Realm, as long as I am in a realm watched over by the stars then my magic cannot be locked inside of me." Lucy replied, "Lisanna can use her magic too since she's a fully realized Keeper and has a similar connection."

Laxus crossed his arms over his chest, "Whatever. I'll prove it to you when we get out of here Blondie."

"I'm sure." Lucy hummed noncommittally.

"So Lucy, where are we going and where is this ride at?" Mira asked, still holding tightly to Lisanna. Lucy grinned and opened her mouth to answer before a roar in the distance stopped her.

Lucy and Lisanna whipped around to face the noise immediately.

"What the hell is that?" Bickslow exclaimed as the rest of them laid eyes on the incoming horde of enormous blue flying monsters who seemed to have people riding on them. "Is that our ride?"

"No." Lucy said with a big grin even as Lisanna moved once again from her sister's grip and set herself in a battle stance next to Lucy, "That would be the 2nd Magical Warfare Division of Edolas' Royal Army coming to investigate the large magical disturbance that happened in the sky above us."

Laxus squinted at the lead monster and the figure that stood on top of it, "That looks like…the red-headed menace."

"Erza?!" Evergreen exclaimed, smacking her fan closed on her hand. "How did she get here?"

"Edolas is a world parallel to our own." Lisanna explained quickly as Lucy began to glow golden and pulled her whip free from her belt, "This is the Edolas version of Erza, here she is one of the Royal Guard Captains."

Bickslow groaned, "If they're anything like the Magic Council then we'll hashing this out for hours."

"Yeah," Lucy started as the head beast began to back wing on the final approach, "that won't be a problem." She pulled her whip taunt between two hands and, in a burst of magic, it changed from a plain black leather to a glowing blue with gold strands wrapped around it.

The winged monster set down several yards away and Erza jumped from it's head easily, bringing with her a large four pronged spear. "Ashley." She sneered, her eyes fixed on Lucy in a glare.

"Knightwalker." Lucy greeted with a smirk.

To the surprise of Laxus, the elder Strauss', and the Raijinshū, Erza darted forward at that, her spear raised as she aimed for Lucy.

Lisanna dove to the side as Lucy met the red-head head on and called out, " **Keeper's Jōhyō!** " loops of fine golden chain appeared in Lisanna's hands with a sharpened five-point star hanging from the end. Once Lisanna slid clear of Lucy and Erza, she swung the chain around before letting the star end fly toward the beast Erza had been riding on. The chain wrapped around the beasts horn three times before the star stabbed mercilessly in the base of the horn, making the beast roar its displeasure. 

"Lisanna!" Mira screamed in terror as the beast took off, dragging Lisanna right along with it.

Lisanna grinned down at her sister from where she hung by the end of the golden chain, "I'll be right back Mira! I have to deal with the rest of the soldiers!" she called back excitedly.

Before Mira could answer back, Lucy and Erza exploded past her line of sight in a flurry of red and gold, Lucy's whip flashing around them. "I see you've been slacking since you ran like a coward!" Erza was snarling as she thrust with her spear only for Lucy to move out of the way in a blur of light.

"Had to give you a chance to catch up." Lucy retorted, landing two quick punches while she directed her whip to wrap around Erza's ankle and pulled. The red-head hit the ground with a grunt but rolled quickly to recover, her spear changing in a quick flash of light as she came to a stop.

The new spear had a single wide flat head that began to glow as Erza glared at Lucy, " **Mel Force!** " Erza snarled. A large gust of wind shot from the tip of the spear toward Lucy but she disappeared into a hole that appeared in the ground. Another hole appeared behind Erza and Lucy leapt out, lashing her whip out and letting it wrap around Erza's neck. With a huge jerk, Erza went flying into the air.

"Boss your girl is a badass!" Bickslow exclaimed from where he was watching with the others.

"As expected from the mate of the Great Laxus Dreyar." Freed praised.

Lucy looked over to them with a raised eyebrow before letting her gaze slide over to her fellow blond, "You make him call you 'the Great Laxus Dreyar'? That would be like me requiring my family to use my title." She tilted her head cutely as Erza finally returned to the ground and Lucy's whip wrapped around her stunned form completely, "Though I guess your full title would be 'The Great Lightning Dragon Slayer, Laxus Dreyar'."

"I don't make him do it." Laxus grunted, feeling his dragon purr deep in his chest as Lucy spun in graceful display of discreet muscle to punch Erza square in the face. "But I would call you Your Majesty any time."

Lucy snorted, "That was a terrible line. Especially since I'm not a Majesty yet, just a Highness." She pulled Erza's spear free from the confines of her whip, earning her a snarl from the red-head. Lucy ignored her and looked up to where Lisanna was taking care of business from her perch on the flying beast, "Lisanna!" she sang, the white haired girl looked down at Lucy, her Jōhyō currently wrapped around the shoulders of one soldier that she had been swinging into several others. "Catch!" she tossed the spear perfectly up to Lisanna who caught it with a happy squeal as her Jōhyō disappeared.

"I've been wanting to play with this!" Lisanna cheered before leaping from the beast, brandishing the spear expertly as she came to a stop half a foot off the ground and started in on the next soldier in line.

"Where did she learn that?" Mira rasped, watching her sister spin through her fight with ease and confidence.

"The levitation or the spear technique?" Lucy asked as she dodged Erza's poor attempt to knock the end of her whip out of her hand.

"B-both." Mira squeaked, her eyes wide seeing Lisanna suddenly shoot into the air before dropping back down to deliver a hard blow to a soldier who had begun shooting arrows at her.

"I taught her levitation. It's a basic and necessary skill within the Celestial realm, everyone knows it." Lucy answered, tightening her whip on Erza unmercifully, "The spear technique is all Aquila though."

"Lisanna is fighting like a man!" Elfman exclaimed with a proud grin.

"No!" Erza snarled, "She's fighting like a monster! Like the rest of your vile dark guild!"

Lucy's eyes locked back onto the red head as the Earthland observers looked to her in confusion, "We're monsters? How about you look in the mirror _Fairy Hunter_." Lucy sneered, if anyone had been listening they would have heard a dull rumble approaching from over the desert rise, "How many of ours have you not just killed but tortured mercilessly?" Mira gasped and threw her hand over her mouth as Evergreen tensed up. "And what real crime have we commited? Theft? Extortion? Murder? No! We simply wanted to earn money with the only bits of magic we could find that hadn't been greedily horded by the Crown!" Lucy's ear twitched slightly as the revving of an engine sounded, alerting both blondes present. Lucy cocked her head and adjusted her grip on her whip handle, "Unlike you though, we see the value in human life and to extract revenge by doing as you've done would make us no better than you. So we won't kill you, but maiming isn't completely off the table."

With that, Lucy flicked her whip so that it sent Erza spinning out of its grasp and right into the oncoming four-wheeler that sped over the ridge.

Lucy watched as a ragdoll-like Erza was sent flying past her troops to land in a broken heap in the dust. The soldiers, seeing that their Captain had been taken out and was likely injured, called a retreat; two grabbing Erza's broken form while the rest piled aboard the flying beasts that had not been taken out in the battle.

Lisanna flew over to the large maroon and silver four-wheeler and knocked on the window with a bright smile. The window rolled down and a _very_ familiar grin below pink hair appeared much to the astonishment of the Earthlanders, "Was that the Hunter I just hit?"

"Yep!" Lisanna giggled and nodded.

"That was great Natsu! Perfect timing!" Lucy laughed.

The pink haired doppleganger leaned out of the window and looked right at the blonde, "Lucy! You're back!" he wrinkled his nose, "What are you wearing though?"

"Stuff it Dragion." Lucy snapped playfully, she looked back to the stunned group from Earthland, "Get in. We need to get to the guild."

It took quite a bit of shuffling since the four-wheeler wasn't made for nine people but eventually everyone was able to pile into the space. Lucy, Evergreen, Mira, and Lisanna sat on the front bench seat with Natsu, Lucy right next to him and Lisanna being held tightly in her sister's lap as she held Erza Knightwalker's spear between her legs. The guys were all stuffed in the back, poor Freed and Bickslow being squashed between the bulkier Elfman and Laxus.

"So…" Evergreen started from her spot between Lucy and Mira, "I assume the guild we're going to is…"

"Yep." Lucy grinned, "Fairy Tail." She sat back, "Hit it Fireball."

Natsu grinned and slammed his foot onto the accelerator, the car shot forward and everyone was pushed back in their seats with the force. Both Natsu and Lisanna whooped through a sudden spin that had them shooting back the way Natsu had arrived from. The males in the back groaned as they were pressed into one another with the sudden moves.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Natsu was comfortable driving, let alone being on a form of transportation in general." Mira giggled into her sister's back, watching the happiness that shone on the pinkette's face as he drove.

Natsu glanced over at her with a smirk, "You're talking about my counterpart right? Luce did say that he gets pretty sick on transportation but I couldn't be happier here. The faster the better!" he rubbed the dashboard, "And my sweet girl is the best! I built her that way! She and I are the fastest in Edolas! How could I ever be sick of that? We're the best! That's why they call me the Fireball!" Mira giggled at the cocky male's pride.

"Princess Lucinda." Freed wheezed respectfully from where he was currently crushed between Laxus and Bickslow.

Lucy hooked her arm over the back of the seat to look at the green haired male, "You can just call me Lucy. No need to be formal unless we're in a situation that calls for me to use my rank."

"Of course Princess Lucy." Freed replied, Lucy rolled her eyes before gesturing him to go on. "I wanted to know if we all had counterparts here?"

"You might." Lucy said with a shrug, "But you also might not. You see…"

Lisanna leaned over Evergreen to place her hand over Lucy's mouth, "No lecture mode in the car." Lucy pouted around Lisanna's hand.

"Lecture?" Freed asked excitedly, just as they crossed from a dessert area into a lush jungle habitat.

Evergreen groaned, "If hers is anywhere as bad as your lecture mode Freed then we definitely don't need it when we're in this tight space."

Lucy licked Lisanna's hand and she jerked away with a squeak, Lucy slumped in her seat a little and pouted, "One of the coolest things my father has done and I'm not allowed to talk about it." Lucy grumbled, Natsu reached over and gave her leg a consoling pat.

Lisanna rolled her eyes and scooted around a little in Mira's lap so she could see Freed, "You may have a counterpart here in Edolas but if you end up being a Keeper you won't have a counterpart. That's part of the information the Planetary Council found out by reading the Threads of Fate. It's to match Lucy, she doesn't have a counterpart because of who her father is and her connection to the Celestial Realm."

"It's more complicated than that." Lucy muttered.

"No lectures!" Lisanna huffed, Lucy stuck her tongue out at her friend childishly.

"There it is!" Natsu interrupted before things devolved.

Ahead of them was an enormous and slightly whimsical looking building made of sturdy green vines twisted together to form a large trunk. Flowing from the top of this were two large groups of vines that twisted together and curled above the building itself. Below that and above a wooden set of double doors, was another two twists of vines that made a sort of heart shape. Suspended inside of that heart was a large orange flag with a white Fairy Tail symbol on it.

Lucy perked up at the sight of the building, "Welcome to Edolas Fairy Tail everyone!"

"Aw, the building is so cute!" Mira cooed.

"Guild halls aren't mean to be cute." Laxus gruffed.

Lucy rolled her eyes again, "We're considered a dark and dangerous guild that is an enemy of the crown. I think we're allowed to have a cute guild hall."

Natsu slowed drastically as they approached and drove around behind the guild hall until they came to a much larger set of double doors. Natsu drove up to it slowly and pushed the doors open with the nose of his four-wheeler until there was enough room to let him pull into a large space that seemed to have other magic powered vehicles in it. Finally, they came to a stop and Natsu shut off the four-wheeler.

The second they stopped everyone pushed to get out of the crowded space, stretching once they were free and looking around the space they found themselves in. Lisanna moved quickly back to close the doors that they had entered from, lifting a bar into place to lock it.

"Well this should be interesting." Mira said softly, looking around curiously.

"No kidding." Bickslow laughed as he skipped along with his babies still clutched to him.

Evergreen stepped closer to her team and flipped open her fan to do her own perusal discretely, "Yes…" she narrowed her eyes slightly, "Where did the pink idiot go?"

"NO!" came a shout. They all spun to see Natsu clutching at his steering wheel as Lucy tried to drag him out of the driver's side door, "I won't leave!" he shouted.

"You have to eat!" Lucy snapped, "I'm not going to bring you out food and I'm not going to let Gray do it either!"

"I don't need food!" Natsu cried dramatically as Lucy managed to get him half way out of his seat, "My speed will sustain me!"

"You're not sleeping in your car again Fireball!" Lucy shouted back, Lisanna giggled into her sister's shoulder.

"What the hell is this all about?" Laxus grunted.

"Well, you see," Lisanna started, "when this Natsu is in his car he's confident and adventurous and cocky but once he's out…"

With one final heave, Lucy pulled Natsu from his vehicle, making him drop on the ground.

Lucy let out a harsh breath with her hands on her hips, "There, honestly, was that so hard."

Instantly Natsu curled in on himself and crouched to the ground with his hands over his head, "Ah-I'm sorry Lucy! Don't hurt me!" he whimpered, shaking in fear.

Lucy rolled her eyes once more, "You know better Natsu."

The pinkette cringed, "Yes, you only hurt me if I've done something wrong."

"You just can't live in your car Natsu. It's not healthy." She sighed, pinching her nose.

"What. The. Hell." Bickslow whispered, his eyes wide beneath the grate that covered them.

"Yes Lucy." Natsu was quick to concede, "You're right. Always right. I'm sorry." He edged toward the open door of his car, "Let me just…"

"Nope!" Lucy denied, quickly shutting the door and startling the shivering mass on the ground.

Natsu bolted for Lisanna and cowered behind her, "Lisanna," he whined, "save me from scary Lucy."

"Unbelievable." Laxus snorted as Lucy moved over to join them.

Lucy giggled, "Yeah, and I met him first. Just think how much of a shock I got going from him to Earthland Natsu."

"No kidding." The larger blond huffed, crossing his arms across his chest as he took up a position next to his mate.

"Well come on." Lucy hummed, "We need to go greet the guild and get some food!" She led the group through a series of dim hallways with Lisanna bringing up the back since she had to drag Natsu along with her.

Before too long, they came out into a large space filled with people talking and laughing with each other around the many tables that littered the space. Over along the wall was a large bar, where several people sat, and on the far side of that was a swinging door that seemed to lead to a kitchen. The Earthland members were able to recognize many faces but it was the strange appearances that threw them off.

Laxus startled a little as Lucy started to levitate next to him, putting herself up a little higher before she called out, "Hey guys!" heads turned immediately and the blonde gave them a bright smile, "I'm home!"

"Lucy!"

* * *

 **A** **Jōhyō is what is called a 'rope dart' and is usually a fine chain or rope with a blade on the end. Of course, Lisanna's is made of Celestial Magic and her blade is star shaped.**

 **Also, I want to let you know that we won't really be focusing a whole lot on Edolas at the moment (later we'll revisit it). I know myself and if I get too much into playing with the differences and stuff, this will turn into a total crack fic and we'll never get out of Edolas (it's just too fun).**

 **Next Time: A Keeper's Purpose**


	5. A Keeper's Purpose

**This chapter is a bit information dense but don't worry, we will touch different subjects more in depth as we come up on them.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Will add as needed.**

* * *

Meeting Edolas' Fairy Tail was quite the experience for the Earthlanders.

It was clear from the first moment that they had entered the main room that Lucy and Lisanna were well loved by these people, both being quickly pulled from the Earthland group to be engulfed by the others. The guild members revolved around the two like twin suns as they beamed and worked their way through the crowd to greet everyone. It was after the two made it over to sit on the bar that they shared a mischievous look and introduced the Fairy Tail members from Earthland.

Despite the differences that one could see between Earthland and Edolas, one thing remained sacred to all who bared the mark of Fairy Tail.

The need to party.

As soon as the Earthland members were introduced, the Edolas members dragged them all apart to interrogate them even as the party kicked into full swing. From there things only devolved.

The Earthlanders didn't know what shocked them the most as they took in the familiar yet _so_ different Fairy Tail members around them. From a Cana who refused to drink alcohol and was a prim and proper lady to a Levy who was a complete hardass and disregarded books almost entirely. Laxus remained as close to Lucy as possible but he was treated to the strangeness that was the Edolas version of Gildarts, the stealth expert, who spoke with an air of refinement to Lucy. Mira spent time fawning over the much more handsy and open versions of Alzack and Bisca. Elfman was trying to get a trembling Natsu to 'be a man' as the pinkette hid behind Lisanna again. Evergreen had been pulled into a discussion on her fashion by two blue haired women who weren't in currently in Earthland Fairy Tail, Wendy and Juvia. Bickslow took time to tease an overly clothed Gray and Freed surprisingly found decent conversation with more mature versions of Wakaba and Macao who drew him into a philosophical debate.

The party lasted hours, the Guild mates that spanned across two realms coming together quite nicely. The Raijinshū, especially, felt like they were getting a second chance with the guild. They had isolated themselves so much in Earthland that they really only socialized with each other but here in Edolas, they were being welcomed with open arms.

As the sun sunk below the horizon and stars began to fill the sky, the crowd tapered down gradually, disappearing into the guild.

Once the Earthlanders had all gravitated back toward Lucy and Laxus, Lisanna suggested moving up to her and Lucy's rooms for the night. The group had been rather surprised that, apparently, _all_ of the Edolas members actually lived within the guild hall; but Lucy explained that it was for safety since they were classified as criminals here in Edolas. Lisanna explained further by telling them that Lucy had actually been the one to set the rune work for the expanded interior after she first joined the guild, Freed practically salivated at the news and Lucy promised to show him later.

"That was pretty fun." Bickslow commented as they were led through the halls, "But I'm significantly less sloshed than after a usual guild party. Like barely buzzed."

Lisanna giggled, "That's because Cana always pours out the booze bottles and replaces them with different juices whenever she thinks she can get away with it."

"A sober Cana is still so strange." Mira commented, "But after today I'm pretty sure Edolas can't get much more surprising."

Lucy turned to her with a grin as she stopped at a door that had her and Lisanna's names carved in it. "Oh I can think of at least five things that will surprise you." She opened the door and lead everyone in.

It was surprisingly spacious. The first area you came into was a large living room that had several plush couches arranged around a large coffee table, with two arm chairs taking a prominent place in the arrangement. There was a desk pushed off along one wall with scrolls littering the top and a fire place was built into another wall. The floor had plush royal blue carpeting and the walls were littered with framed pictures of different people, only a few of which that the Earthlanders recognized. On the far wall was a half open door that clearly showed the end of a bed and tucked beside the desk was another door that looked to lead to a grand bathroom.

Laxus took in the space carefully, cataloging the different smells and the different faces that featured in pictures around the room, especially the ones that had Lucy in them as well. Lisanna's was the most dominant scent in the room, but that was to be expected since she lived here. Natsu Dragion's scent was pretty prevalent in the room, as well as the non-stripper Gray's scent, but there was a third scent that had a place in the room that was making Laxus' dragon slightly uneasy, he couldn't pinpoint what was so familiar about it. Lucy's scent was in the room as well but it was easy to tell that she hadn't been there in quite some time; her strawberry and honey scent, edged as always in a third note that Laxus had never been able to describe, was buried deep in the room and was likely only there now because she had spent so much time here in the past.

Lucy and Lisanna took the armchairs and everyone else filled in on the couches. Laxus took the couch closest to Lucy and ignored Mira's knowing grin as she sat across from him, closest to Lisanna.

"So," Lisanna started, focusing on the Raijinshū unexpectedly, "you guys follow Laxus then? What will you do if Laxus really is Lucy's mate and he accepts the consequences of mating her?"

"Consequences?" Laxus rumbled, looking to Lucy. His mate had flicked her hand toward the desk and was now floating scrolls over to herself so she could look at them.

"Yes." Lucy hummed distractedly as she took the first scroll, "Among a few other things, I'm the Princess of the Celestial Spirit Realm. Celestial Spirits are nearly immortal. If you really are my mate and you choose to go through with that then my immortality would transfer to you." Laxus' eyes widened slightly and Evergreen drew in a sharp breath.

"Does that mean…" Mira started uncertainly before her hand shot out to take her sister's.

Lisanna gave her sister a soft smile, "Yes, when I became a fully realized Keeper I became nearly immortal as well."

"And you're asking us to…" Mira choked out.

Lucy let the scrolls drop a little to look at the eldest Strauss, "Yes, that's one of the biggest reasons that I wanted to give you time to decide. Immortality is not something to take lightly. I was born with it but for humans it is a lot to consider."

"I t-think you b-better explain t-things now Lucy." Elfman stuttered nervously.

The blonde gave him a worried look, "It's been a long day full of shocks. I was going to wait until morning to dump all this on you."

"I think I'd rather have it now." Mira said sternly.

Lucy gave her a considering look before nodding and letting the scrolls drop onto the coffee table, "Very well." She sat back and crossed one leg daintily over the other before she began, "It is the sacred duty of Celestial Spirits to watch over, guide, and protect those in the realms below from outside threats and the threats that spring from the realm at the roots of the universe, or Tartaros as many people refer to it. My Father, the King of the Celestial Spirit Realm, has done this since before the formation of the constellations, since just before he gained true consciousness within the Void That Lies Beyond. This self-imposed task guided the formation of his physical form. Unfortunately, because he was being formed in the Void That Lies Beyond, the materials provided for his manifestation and the task he took up clashed with each other when he began to take form. The result, was a being that held himself in a _very_ precarious balance. A precarious balance that was passed on to me when I was born."

The Princess shifted herself in her chair as she folded her hands in her lap. "My father kept his own balance for quite some time, with varying degrees of success, before eight very special beings found their way to the newly forming Celestial Realm. They befriended my father and gave him company for the first time in his existence. They encouraged him to take a more active role in the realm he had been forming, instead of letting it simply happen on its own. It was some time later that they encouraged him to save a soul who had suffered in the realms below and grant it peace in the new realm. My father took stars from his body and sent them down to pull the soul up to the Celestial Realm. However, when the stars left the realm, my father's balance was shattered and the universe shook. Unaware of what exactly they were doing at the time, my father's friends reached into the star that held his soul in an attempt to comfort him. When they did that, pieces of my father's soul attached to theirs and they were able to pull him back into balance. Thus, the first Keeper's came into being."

Everyone was listening to the story with rapt attention, Lucy tilted her head a little as her eyes got a far off look in them, "Fast forward to me. My father thought that my human side would make the balance more stable; yet minutes before I was born there was a prophecy made that stated I would have Keepers of my own. As time went on and I grew, we discovered that my human half did nothing to stabilize the balance issue. In fact, my human half's sensitivity to a variety of things caused the balance to shift differently than my fathers, which puts me at risk for my balance to shatter differently than my father. I had been self-balancing with the help of my family since I was born when about three years ago I found my first Keeper by complete accident." Lucy shook herself from her trance and smiled at Lisanna who returned it.

"What happens if your balance shatters?" Freed asked softly.

Lucy looked over at him, "It would depend on my title at the time. If it were to shatter now, I could lose my sanity and destroy a realm or two before my power imploded and I died. If it happens when I'm Queen and I'm not brought back into balance, I could cause the universe to collapse in on itself, leaving any of those unlucky enough to survive to be swallowed by the Void That Lies Beyond as my power scattered."

"You're _that_ powerful?" Elfman asked with wide eyes.

Lucy pursed her lips, "My father came into existence spontaneously in the Void That Lies Beyond, that Void is what is left after the creation of the universe. He is literally made up of chaos and darkness and Void Stuff with only his task to provide him morals, when he emerged from the Void and came into the night sky he absorbed the stars which made up his light half. I am half that and half human, losing my sanity could absolutely cause some sort of apocalyptic event."

"Then it's not really a choice is it." Mira asked, "You need Keepers to keep that from happening."

"No." Lucy answered sternly. "I won't _force_ anyone into it. There are a few other ways to keep myself balanced by myself, they aren't without risk but I would never _demand_ someone to take up that position."

"Especially considering the prophecy." Lisanna threw in, "That's no cake walk, even with that little reassurance at the end."

"Oh definitely." Lucy agreed, "My internal balance and it's shattering isn't something that really needs worrying about too seriously unless I'm hit with some drastic bits of magic or fall through the Void again."

"Let's say you not fall through the Void again." Lisanna said with a shudder, "That was a terrible first impression I got with you almost splintering Edolas in half."

"And you still brought me to the guild." Lucy laughed, "Crazy person."

"You looked like a little lost cat." Lisanna teased, "Someone had to take care of you."

Bickslow and Elfman were happy for the light hearted interruption to the rather gloomy talk but Evergreen was apparently not, "Why did you scare us like that if it's not a big threat?" she huffed.

Lucy blinked and turned her gaze on the brunette, "I was explaining things to Mira and Elfman, being a Keeper is the reason they're here. I certainly wasn't going to sugar coat it. They needed to know the facts to make a decision. It _is_ a serious issue but it's not completely out of control, they needed to know both of those things. Just because it's improbable doesn't mean it's impossible."

"What about this prophecy Blondie?" Laxus asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Let's hear about that."

Lucy looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, "Demanding, aren't you Dragon boy?"

"Don't call me Dragon boy." Laxus growled.

"Don't call me Blondie." Lucy shot back.

The two blondes glared at each other, both ignoring Mira's squeal until Lisanna cleared her throat and started things back up.

"SO…" Lisanna announced loudly, "the prophecy!"

Laxus grunted as his little mate stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to the rest of the room.

"Yes, the prophecy." Lucy continued, "As I said, it was made minutes before I was born. It says, _'When the King falls, the tree will tremble...The heavy throne shall our Princess take...The demons of Tartarous return ...The Princess of the Stars and her mate, a great Dragon, shall defeat them once and for all with the help of the Keepers...And they shall remain, eternal guardians of those under the stars, until time runs out.'_ "

Laxus felt his usual cocky grin spread across his face, "So your mate is a 'Great Dragon' huh? I wonder who that could be."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "With a whole realm of _actual_ dragons it makes me wonder, it really does." Lisanna giggled and Bickslow burst out laughing as Laxus glared at his mate, she just gave him an innocent look in return.

"So, the big thing we have to worry about is fighting demons?" Elfman asked as the laughter died.

Lucy looked over to the hulking Strauss, "Yes. However, it will be some time before my father falls and the demons rise. Our most conservative estimates have it at fifteen years. By then you would have had time to train into the full power of a Keeper, fully integrate your star into your magic, and allow us all to learn teamwork. Besides, there is only six possible threads that the Strings of Fate showed ending in losing that battle. Two I have already prevented with my actions so far. Another was snuffed by Lisanna taking her place with me and the last three I am working to prevent as well."

"There was only six possible ways for that battle to be lost?" Mira asked, "Against _all_ of the demons of Tartaros? You said it was a realm, that sounds impossible."

The blonde winced, "Tartaros politics is a bit jumbled. Many mortals see it as evil. That is not entirely true. Tartaros is at the base of our universe, it is part of the inherent cycle of life. At the Beginning, Tartaros was inhabited completely by devils. Creatures that are inherently peaceful, if a little chaotic, that gathered into tribes based on the element they identified with. Originally they purified the elements that dropped down to them and let it reenter the cycle of the universe, putting the corruption into crystals to slowly and naturally be disbursed over time. Because of their ability to do that, the divine beings who gather passing souls started to send corrupted souls down to Tartaros in hopes that the devils could purify them and allow them a second chance. As the population grew bigger and the corrupted souls began to be more powerful however, the devils started to be over run. Finally, a corrupted divine being by the name of Samael was killed and his soul sent to Tartaros for cleansing. But the corruption was too strong for the devils to cleanse and it overran the realm. Samael became the first demon and began to make more from the other corrupted souls within Tartaros. Those are the ones we would be fighting." Lucy finished, "By the last count we had that was only, truly, a third of Tartaros' population."

"Oh my." Mira gasped, "Those poor things. Are they still alive?"

"Yes, most of them have been enslaved by the demons but they are still allowed to do their work. If the cycle was interrupted then the whole universe would begin to die, that's not what the demons want, they want to be free from Tartaros and allowed to feed on the magic and souls of mortals." Lucy crossed one leg over the other daintily, "Which the upper realms will obviously not allow to happen."

"No shit." Bickslow muttered.

"Is that everything?" Mira asked, taking a steadying breath.

Lucy nodded, "Everything you really need to take into account to decide. Everything else is politics, potential new magics, history, training, and stuff like that. None of it will really matter to you if you refuse."

"And you're sure it's us?" Elfman asked quietly, "Just because we're Lisanna's siblings?"

"Of course not Elfman." Lucy responded softly, "I would never tap you to be a Keeper solely based on who you're related to. I've spent time getting to know you at the guild and have reached the same conclusion that Lisanna did when matching your traits to your potential positions. Then to be doubly sure I subtly gave you both the short cut tests that the Strings of Fate said only my Keepers could complete, without extensive training or intervention of some kind. After all of that, I was positive."

"I don't remember you testing us." Mira pointed out with a frown.

"Wouldn't have been subtle if you did big sister." Lisanna giggled.

Lucy nodded, "Yes, I had to be subtle. I didn't want to break my cover yet. Do you remember about a month back when Natsu completely destroyed the kitchen?"

Mira frowned and brought a finger to her chin, "I remember being very angry when it happened, Master was yelling about us not having the jewels to replace it immediately, Natsu and Gray were fighting about it behind us, Canna and Wakaba was starting a brawl because they wouldn't be getting food with their booze, and you," Mira's dark blue eyes looked to Lucy in confusion, "You just stood next to me and asked me what I thought the new kitchen could look like. After that it was a blur, then the guild had passed out around us and I had a brand new kitchen."

Lucy smiled and nodded, "You reacted to the energy better than I could have predicted."

"What potential position has a test that results in a passed out guild and a new kitchen?" Laxus huffed.

"Keeper of the Chaos!" Lisanna spouted proudly, beaming at her big sister.

Lucy giggled, "Yes, I took all the Chaos potential that the guild was giving off and channeled it to Mira so she could create change from it. Hence, passed out guild and brand new kitchen."

"Wow." Mira said softly, her eyes wide.

"What about me?" Elfman asked, "I don't remember doing anything like that."

"Yours didn't have to do with the acceptance and manipulation of dangerous energies." Lucy responded, "Right after I came back from Galuna Island I asked you to teach me how to make those triple chocolate and strawberry brownies remember?" Elfman blushed a little as everyone looked at him but nodded, "We had to go to the store beforehand for supplies and what did we talk about?"

"You asked me tell you the spirit animals of everyone in the store." Elfman replied confusedly.

"Yep. Complete strangers. Nothing to base your guesses off of. No ability to see souls to confirm it. No magical inference to check your answers. Just completely instinctually assigning an animal to a person." Lucy said, "You got every single one right. All fifteen of them. You were even able to identify one who was becoming corrupt which allowed me to save them later and prevent another potential demon."

"Really?" Elfman asked.

"Really." Lucy confirmed, "Which proved to me beyond a reasonable doubt that you were the one with the potential to become Keeper of the Beasts."

"M-y b-beast souls." Elfman stuttered.

"It's more than that." Lucy said kindly, "It's your ability to recognize that everyone has an animal within them and your ability to balance the instincts inside you with a higher thinking ability. Just like I have to do with the instincts that could over power my higher reasoning if I were to lose my internal balance." Elfman nodded and Mira put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Princess Lucy." Freed began tentatively, Lucy sighed at the title but looked over to the green haired mage curiously, "We of the Raijinshū follow after Laxus and will continue to even if he goes through with your mating." Bickslow and Evergreen both nodded seriously while Laxus' face softened just a hair. "Would you be able to test us so that we can see if we fill the remaining positions?" he cleared his throat a little and sat up straighter, "If there are any remaining of course. If there isn't we will need to look into ways to remain with him."

Lucy studied the group of four for a moment before chancing a glance deeper, at their souls. The group all shared dark blue bands of loyalty between their souls, they were unwavering in their support of each other. The glance also showed her the beginnings of corruption that had begun to heal recently. Lucy blinked away the view of their souls and smiled at the Raijinshū.

"Such deep bonds of loyalty." Bickslow shifted a little, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "There are five more Keeper positions, only three have been verified to exist in all of the Strings of Fate. I was hoping to get to know potential Keepers before testing them so it wouldn't be so sudden, which is why I called the tests 'short cuts', but it would save a bit of time and travel if we did the whole group at once." She folded her hands in her lap and cocked her head, "I figure Bickslow is a seith mage by the souls in the totems but I'll need to know your and Evergreen's magics as well to see if they would match up with any of the positions."

Freed nodded solemnly, "Evergreen is a Fairy Mage with a secondary magic in her eyes which allows her to turn others to stone. I am a rune mage, more specifically I use Dark Écriture."

Lucy nodded and she looked to consider the data before uncrossing her legs and grabbing a scroll off the coffee table, "Of the positions you three could potentially match, only one of you can be tested here in Edolas."

"But we have a chance." Evergreen asked, glancing over at Laxus with a hopeful look.

Lucy turned soft eyes to her, "Yes." _'He may seem gruff but he must not be too terrible if he's earned such pure and steadfast loyalty.'_ She thought, "But like I said, only one of you will be able to be tested without access to your magic." With that she tossed Freed the scroll and he scrambled to catch it.

"What is this?" Freed asked nervously.

"Mission report from Kinana." Lisanna answered, "A Serpens currently on Earthland seeking a new Ophiuchus."

"And," Freed swallowed hard as he gently gripped the edge of the scroll, "what do I need to do?"

"Read it." Lucy answered.

"That's it?" Bickslow asked, "No 'channeling dangerous energies' or something else crazy?"

Lucy giggled, "This is a different kind of test."

Freed unrolled the scroll and looked down at strange round symbols that rolled neatly across the thick surface. The green haired mage frowned at the unfamiliar symbols for a panicked minute before his vision blurred momentarily and he rubbed at his eyes. When he dropped his hand the circular symbols started to transform under his gaze. "I'm requesting an early mission end as of the moment this letter reaches Her Highness, Princess Lucinda." Freed read uncertainly, he glanced up at said Princess but she gave nothing away except to wave him on. Freed went back to the scroll, "Princess, I have gathered and attached much about the guild of the potential new Ophiuchus. Your immediate interference is needed to save not only many mortals who may be corrupted but to also free three of the Great Zodiac who are being mistreated with their current Master. I implore you to take swift action. I will remain to guard my charge. Kinana of House Serpens." Freed finished before letting scroll drop into his lap.

Lucy gave him a small smile, "So?"

"How did I read these runes?" Freed asked, "I don't recognize them but…" he glanced back down at the scroll.

"The report is written in the Language of the Stars. It's never been taken from the Celestial Realm before so this would actually be first time that it's been seen by a mortal let alone read and understood." Lucy said nonchalantly.

"Does this mean…?" Freed asked shakily.

Bickslow gave a tongue lolling grin and looked over to Lucy, "Well don't leave us in suspense! Which one is he?"

"If he accepts he will be Keeper of the Rules." Lucy told him.

Evergreen and Mira both descended into giggles while Bickslow gave the rune mage a hearty slap on the back, "That totally fits you man!"

"I-I…" Freed stuttered, looking at the scroll with wide disbelieving eyes.

Lucy shook her head and stood up, "Take a moment. I'm going to take a shower and then send Kinana a response, with the content of that report we'll need to head out first thing in the morning to wrap up the mission." She moved over to the bathroom, her keys glimmering just as she shut the door.

"Well," Lisanna said with a clap, standing up and going over to her siblings, "we should talk." She pulled them from their seats and looked over to Laxus and the Raijinshū, "The Master may come by to see Lucy. Just let him in, he's here often enough."

Laxus gave a grunt of acknowledgement as the Strauss' all went into the bedroom and the door shut after them leaving him with his team.

"Today has certainly…" Freed started, "had some interesting revelations." He finished lamely.

"That's putting it lightly." Ever huffed, flipping open her fan.

"Your girl is a badass though Boss!" Bickslow laughed, "And powerful!"

"Yes," Evergreen hummed, "who would have thought the one who taught you the value of inner strength from afar would be such a powerhouse."

"I already suggested she may have hidden magic as not much is known about Celestial Summoning methods. However, she was born an immortal being. That in of itself speaks of her being on truly another level." Freed commented.

"What I'm more concerned about is these other consequences for Laxus to mate with her." Evergreen said sharply. "She said that him becoming immortal with her was 'among other things'. Does this mean that the others are not really important enough to be mentioned or is immortality the least of the consequences and she thought that if he didn't accept that one then he wouldn't even begin to accept the others?"

"It doesn't matter." Laxus grunted, drawing the eyes of his team to him, "She is my mate. My dragon wants her and won't be happy with anyone else. _I_ don't _want_ anyone else. She's perfect. Consequences can be dealt with or worked around. Even if immortality is the biggest issue, it will be worth it if that immortal life is spent with Lucy."

There was a beat of silence in the Raijinshū as they stared at their leader with wide eyes, before Evergreen broke first.

"Aww Laxus!" the fairy mage squealed.

"That's some sappy shit Boss." Bickslow snickered, "But I get it."

"We will follow you until the end Laxus!" Freed proclaimed, clasping a fist over his heart.

Laxus' eyeroll was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow exchanged looks even as Laxus climbed to his feet and approached the door. Before Laxus could reach for the knob there was another quick knock before the door swung open.

"Lucy? I heard you were back, I wanted to ask you…oh, hello. Is Lucy still here?"

It only took seconds for Laxus to take in the face that was oh so familiar despite it being years since he'd last seen it. Another two seconds had the rage at the face's owner, that had been pushed down over years and years, to rise in the dragon slayers throat.

Laxus' fist was moving almost before he even realized it and said fist slammed unerringly into the hated face before him.

* * *

 **Who oh who could Laxus have just decked?**


End file.
